Master Copy Painting:

Joaquin Sorolla

Copying masterworks is a time-honored way of improving one's painting skills.

By attempting to reproduce a masterful painting, we are forced to examine it not only as a beautiful work of art, but also to decipher the way in which it was created. From this exercise, we learn immense amounts about how to simplify the highly detailed world around us as the masters once did. We observe the choices they made, the techniques they employed, and the things they omitted. We get a glimpse of the world through the eyes of a master painter. Through this process we glean ways to improve our own choices when working from nature.

In this class, the master whose work we will be examining is Joaquín Sorolla, a Spanish painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, celebrated for his luminous depictions of light, atmosphere, and life.

There are several reasons Sorolla was chosen for this workshop. First, he was a direct painter. His work was executed with confidence and clarity, often completed in a relatively short amount of time. This allows us to clearly observe his brushwork, color relationships, and decision-making process, making his paintings particularly well-suited for study through copying.

Secondly, Sorolla is one of the greatest painters of natural light. His work provides an incredible opportunity to study how light behaves—how it affects color, edges, and form. His paintings, especially those done outdoors, demonstrate how to simplify complex visual information into clear, readable statements of light and color.

Thirdly, Sorolla’s work bridges strong draftsmanship with painterly freedom. His figures are structurally sound, yet handled with a looseness and immediacy that gives them life and movement. This balance is something many painters strive for, and studying his work provides valuable insight into achieving it.

Students will learn Sorolla’s palette, philosophy of approach, and painting technique. Throughout the workshop, students will complete a series of smaller studies exploring various aspects of his process, as well as broader principles of painting. These studies will culminate in a larger, more refined master copy of one of his paintings.

We will be following the general procedures Sorolla used in his painting process, while also discussing the fundamentals of painting more broadly.

Topics covered will include:

·       How to prepare a canvas

·       How to mix colors to capture light and atmosphere

·       How to organize a palette to simplify the painting process

·       How to maintain your painting materials

·       A discussion of painting mediums

·       How to simplify complex scenes into clear value and color relationships

·       Understanding edges and how they contribute to the sense of light

·       Capturing gesture and movement within a painting

·       The steps involved in creating a finished painting from block-in to final accents

This workshop will be open to students of all skill levels. The structure of this workshop allows for a great deal of one-on-one instruction with each student.

There will be demos and lectures throughout the class as students work alongside the instructor.

Don’t miss this exciting chance to study light, color, and atmosphere while uncovering the techniques of one of history’s greatest painters of sunlight.

Details

8, 3 hour classes

August 2nd to September 20th

Sundays 9AM-12

This course is $380 

We believe that art is more fun when shared with a friend, bring a friend who has not taken one of our courses before and you will both receive a %10 discount off of the listed workshop price. 

TO SIGN UP FOR THIS WORKSHOP, PLEASE FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THE FORM BELOW.

Get information about upcoming workshop, events, and ZAFA news